MIAMI -- The Marlins’ company line has been not to worry about their veterans’ slow starts due to proven track records.

But what happens when the second half comes around and not much changes? In an 8-0 loss to the Rangers on Thursday afternoon at loanDepot park, the Marlins extended their streak to 34 consecutive scoreless innings. The franchise record is 37 from July 14-22, 2013.

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"You guys have heard me enough talk about water going to reach its level," manager Don Mattingly said. "You feel like these guys are going to reach their level, and that they're going to get hot and by the end of the year, it's going to get to where it has been traditionally. So that part has been a little frustrating. I guess you never know when that thing gets tipped where they don't reach that level. Those guys aren't old. They're in a good part of their career. It's not like they're in their late 30s or anything and Father Time's whittling away. I think it's guys that are still in their primes, good bodies and are still capable."

After the Marlins posted some of the worst offensive numbers in the Majors in 2021, the Miami front office upgraded the roster by signing free agents Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler. They combined for 56 home runs last season, with Soler fresh off a World Series MVP Award with the Braves. There is an MLB-wide correlation between belting taters and winning ballgames: Since 2015, 75 percent of all teams that have made the playoffs have had home run totals at or above league average.

But it’s clear the Marlins are missing the dynamic that All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jon Berti, who leads the Majors with 28 steals, bring. The lineup -- filled with boppers who don’t run -- becomes stagnant without them.

"I think we have a lot of the same guy in our lineup,” Mattingly said. “[With just] two lefties in our lineup, you get a power righty that's got a good slider, [and] you've got your hands full. When he gets in a groove, then he's going to see the same guy over and over and over, and you pitch them almost the same way."

Since moving within two games of .500, the Marlins have dropped six of eight. During this stretch, they have scored 12 runs -- or 1.5 per game. They have been shut out three games in a row. The last time they scored was on Bryan De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly in the second inning last Friday.

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If Miami is built for power, this past week says it all. The club has gone nine straight games (87 innings) without going deep, tying the franchise record last done in April 2019. While the Marlins have expected power from García (6 homers), Soler (13), Jesús Aguilar (11) and All-Star Garrett Cooper (7), it hasn’t come on a consistent basis. This season, the team is 28-26 when going deep in a game and 15-22 when it doesn’t.

Soler, who has homered just twice since June 1, has been watching footage of his hot streaks to try to reach that place again. It is less about mechanics and more timing.

“It hasn't come out exactly the way you wanted it to come out, but I believe after this first half, things will start coming out more positive,” Soler said of his season via an interpreter.

Miami’s best scoring chance on Thursday came in the first inning, when Joey Wendle led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on Cooper’s flyout. Soler struck out, Aguilar walked and Brian Anderson lined out.

“If there’s runners in scoring position, I don't feel the pressure,” Soler said. “First at-bat's a little rusty there because you're trying to get the timing and everything. But at the end, we're not scoring players once they're in scoring position. We've got to continue to work on getting those runs.”

One thing is certain: The Marlins will win or lose with those boppers. While speedsters Billy Hamilton and Luke Williams provide a different look, they are role players.

"The big boys have got to go,” Mattingly said. “If the big boys don't go, we're not going anywhere. I think we show we're going to pitch pretty well. We're going to hang in there on that side of it. If our big boys don't go, then we're not going anywhere. I know we can dance around all the other aspects of, 'Is this guy doing OK?' 'How are our peripheral guys doing?' We can talk about those guys all you want. But at the end of the day, the big boys have got to show up, and they've got to go. And that's what's going to fuel us."